Ranger walked me into the building, escorted me to the elevator, and pushed the button for my floor. “Say hello to Morelli for me.”
I let myself into my apartment, Bob rushed up to me, slammed on the brakes, took a big sniff, and backed off.
Morelli was watching from the couch. “That’s not a good sign,” he said. “Did you fall into the Dumpster again?”
“I got sick. Food poisoning.” I held a plastic bag up for him to see. “I threw up in my evening purse. They bagged it for me at the hospital.”
Morelli got to his feet. “I have to hand it to Ranger. He knows how to show a girl a good time. Is there anything I can do for you? Pepto-Bismol? Tums? French fries?”
“I need a shower.”
Morelli got happy. “I’ll help.”
“No! I don’t need a sexy shower.”
“I can give you a non-sexy shower.”
“No, you can’t. It’s not in your genetic makeup.”
“How are you going to feel after the shower?”
“Tired,” I told him.
“Before I forget, Schmidt thinks something is off with the Cubbin case. He’s watched the security tapes from the hospital, and he can’t figure how Cubbin got out.”
“Grandma said there’ve been budget cuts, and she thought the security cameras might not be working.”
“The hall camera and the elevator cameras were working. If Cubbin left his room he would have been caught on video.”
“How about the window?”
“No sign of impact below the window,” Morelli said.
“Vinnie’s going to be out a lot of money if I can’t find Cubbin. And I could use the recovery fee.”
“That’s a nice dress,” Morelli said. “Do you need help getting it off?”
“No!”
EIGHT
“SO HOW’D YOUR big date go?” Lula asked when I walked into the office.
“It wasn’t a big date. It was business.”
“I wouldn’t mind doing some business with him. I swear he’s the finest man ever made.”
Connie looked up from her computer. “Did I miss something?”
“Stephanie had a date with Ranger last night,” Lula said.
“It was business,” I told Connie. “He needed someone to attend an event with him. It wasn’t social.”
“It don’t have to be social to be sexual with Ranger,” Lula said. “Unfortunately I don’t know firsthand, but I have a active fantasy life.”
“If you don’t have any leads on Cubbin you might try to find Brody Logan,” Connie said to me. “He’s got a medium high bond, and he’s got his collateral. Vinnie made the mistake of not confiscating it when he bonded him out.”
I pulled the file out of my bag and glanced at it. “It says here ‘religious icon.’ What does that mean? Is it a cross? A picture of the Virgin Mary?”